Raiser's Edge®-ResearchPoint® Integration: Convert Text Data Type Ratings To Tables

Shelley Hindmon 2

Have you struggled with querying or building a List on your ProspectPoint® Target Gift Range (TGR) or Affluence Insight™ Wealth Segmentation ratings? The cause may be because the Ratings synced through the Raiser's Edge®-ResearchPoint® integration are formatted as text fields rather than tables. In this blog, I will discuss how to convert your text data type ratings into table data type ratings. This is a one-time setup, and your ratings will sync as table values moving forward.

Building lists and queries can be complicated enough without the added complexity of filtering by text data type ratings in Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® or Raiser’s Edge®. The Raiser's Edge®-ResearchPoint® integration creates model scores that have table values in ResearchPoint as text type fields in Raiser’s Edge.

Note: For the purposes of this article, I will use Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® (RE NXT) and Raiser’s Edge® (RE) interchangeably because the integration is the same for both versions.

In an effort to simplify creating Lists and Queries based on ProspectPoint® Target Gift Range (TGR) or Affluence Insight™ Wealth Segmentation, I wanted to share this tip on how to convert text data type to table data type ratings in Raiser’s Edge. This is a one-time customization that will not need to be re-configured each year.

To see how your ratings are configured in RE, navigate to Config > Tables > Ratings. Double-click on the rating (e.g. Target Analytics Wealth Segmentation or Target Gift Range - WP) and a window will open displaying the name of the rating and the data type.

There are four basic steps to the ratings data type conversion process:

1. Delete the ratings from constituent records
2. Change the ratings category data type from text to table
3. Create a new table with the rating’s table values
4. Sync the ratings from ResearchPoint

Let’s go through these steps in more detail. I will include instructions for both the Target Gift Range (TGR) and Wealth Segmentation ratings, but you will only need to follow the steps for the rating(s) your organization purchased.

Step #1: Delete any existing data in select Ratings fields

USERS SYNCING FOR THE FIRST TIME:

If this is the first time the RE NXT database has been synced from ResearchPoint, sync one record first to create the Ratings fields. You will then need to delete the ratings you wish to update before you can update the data types from text to number or text to table.

Tip: The fastest was is from RE database view > open the constituent record > Prospect tab (if RE:Search module) > Ratings tab > right-click and select delete.

Open that constituent record and delete the following ratings:

• Target Gift Range - WP
• Target Analytics Wealth Segmentation

USERS WHO HAVE SYNCED RATINGS BEFORE:

If Ratings were previously synced, global delete the following Ratings from all records in RE NXT.

• Navigate to Admin > Globally Delete Records.
  • In the General tab:
    • Select the Record Type of “Prospect Ratings”
    • Include “All Prospect Ratings” since you want to delete them from all records.
    • Leave the default check boxes, including running a pre-delete report to validate before deleting.
  • In the Delete options tab:
    • Leave Source: <All Sources>
    • Choose Category “Target Analytics Wealth Segmentation” or “Target Gift Range - WP”.
    • Leave Date: <all dates>
  • Click the Delete Now button to run the pre-delete report. Continue to the next step if there are no exceptions.
  • On the General tab, change the radio button to “Delete records” to perform the global delete process.
• Repeat for the other rating, if needed.

Step #2: Change the data types

Navigate to Config > Tables > Ratings table, double-click on each of the following ratings names and change the data type:

• “Target Gift Range - WP” from text to table and create a new table called “Target Gift Range”
• “Target Analytics Wealth Segmentation” from text to table and create a new table called “Wealth Segmentation”

STEP #3: Create the table values for TGR and/or Wealth Segmentation.

In Config > Tables > click on the name of the new table (e.g. Target Gift Range or Wealth Segmentation). Add the following New Table Entries to the table exactly as follows or it will cause errors when the data is synced from ResearchPoint:

Wealth Segmentation Table Values A1 - High Net Worth Philanthropists A2 - Financially Secure Philanthropists A3 - Upwardly Mobile Philanthropists B1 - Steady Humanitarians B2 - Devoted Humanitarians B3 - Faithful Humanitarians C1 - Middle Class Casual Donors C2 - Working Class Casual Donors C3 - Marginal Casual Donors C4 - Sporadic Casual Donors D1 - Affluent Enigmas E1 - Blue Collar Enigmas E2 - Non-Starter Enigmas

Target Gift Range Table Values
$1-$50 $51-$100 $101-$250 $251-$500 $501-$1,000 $1,001-$2,500 $2,501-$5,000 $5,001-$10,000 $10,001-$25,000 $25,001-$50,000 $50,001-$100,000 $100,001 +

Step #4: Sync the ratings from ResearchPoint

Login to ResearchPoint and sync your constituents’ model scores. Check out the blog posts “Raiser's Edge®-ResearchPoint® Integration Tips: Part 1 - Configuring the Integration” and “Raiser's Edge®-ResearchPoint® Integration Tips: Part 2 - Using the Integration” for tips and tricks for setting up and using your integration to sync data to RE.

If you get an exception “Invalid Code table entry: Description” when syncing, the likely culprit is that one of the table values you entered is not correct. Spot check a few of the records with this exception to identify any trends, such as only those with the TGR $100,001 + are not syncing. You can also review your tables and confirm that the values are exact. If you are still having difficulty, reach out to Support for assistance.

That’s it! You now have table values to use in Query and Lists to more efficiently group your records based on these ratings. Remember this is a one-time setup. These customized ratings will remain as table data type values from here on out and every time you sync from ResearchPoint to RE.

If this solution helped you and/or if you have any additional tips I missed, please let us know in the comments below!